Formalism is one of the key terms defining the history of abstraction in Saskatoon. The artists in formalish carry on the local formalist tradition to some extent, while at the same time demonstrating a uniquely contemporary approach to the problem of abstraction. Their work speaks to a diverse range of influences, materials, aesthetics, value systems, and histories, in abstract paintings that are fresh, personal, engaging, and unexpected. Danchilla, Krawchuk, and McKay make their work in relative isolation, but within a global community that is more connected and easily accessible than ever before via technology. They acknowledge abstraction's histories--locally as well as internationally--though their relationships to those histories remain adjacent rather than continuous; casual as opposed to strictly formal. Without staking a conceptual or ideological position in relation to the past, as artists a generation before might have felt was necessary, they instead opt for more lighthearted approaches. With genuine curiosity and playful fascination, their work is refreshing and optimistic, and consistently unburdened by the weight or confines of history.